Priorities
by New Wonder
Summary: Funny how her man always forgets the biggest things but remembers the smallest.


When Admiral Aokiji is ordered to destroy the government of a rebel country he doesn't show up in the harbor at the appointed hour. The warships leave without him, and, since both Admiral Akainu and Admiral Kizaru are on the missions of their own, the Marines are utterly and completely defeated on the very day of their arrival. The revolutionaries fought as if they were possessed by demons, the few survivors say fearfully, there was nothing a bunch of Marines could do against men who threw themselves upon the blades to clear the way for their troops. The country is irretrievably lost for the World Government - yet another base for the infection that slowly spreads over the world, yet another hole in the web of the Five Elder Stars' power.

When interrogated about the reason for his absence by a fuming Sengoku, Aokiji calmly says: "I forgot".

Robin never witnesses it with her own eyes - the revolutionaries laughingly tell her the story, and she chuckles and agrees that it has been, indeed, quite stupid of the Admiral to forget something that important.

When they meet again, it is in the middle of an endless ocean, an almost impossible encounter that still happens somehow. The Marines on their ship start firing immediately, without so much as an order, and while Franky starts the engine, the others protecting the ship from the cannonballs seemingly without much effort - Zoro actually falls asleep mid-slash, which doesn't prevent him in the slightest from cutting all the projectiles midair, - she lifts her eyes from the book she's browsing through (not exactly the most insightful research she's ever read, but still good enough to chase boredom away for a time being) and looks at Aokiji from her table on the deck. He stands near the steering wheel with hands in his pockets, looking just as bored as Robin herself and clearly stifling a yawn. Their eyes meet, and she nods slightly. He acknowledges her with a nod of his own and pulls a mask over his eyes, his posture almost immediately signaling that he has fallen asleep.

As they fly away, the Marines' ship pushed back in the waves for nearly half a mile by the force of Coup de Burst, Luffy says, a bit puzzled, "Hey, why didn't that Aokiji guy freeze us into the ocean? Wouldn't that be the easiest way to capture us?"

Back on the Navy ship, being asked the same question by a furious captain, Aokiji shrugs and says, "I forgot".

The day a summit in Mariejois is assembled to form a new Government, with Dragon D. Monkey as the head, Aokiji asks Robin whether she'd like to go for a walk. She hums agreement absent-mindedly, her eyes buried in a book, and immediately finds herself being scooped up and carried over to his bicycle, the book falling from her hands.

He takes her across the sea, to a small uninhabited tropic island, and they spend the whole day doing pretty much nothing: exchanging stories, laughing, eating, sleeping and splashing in the waves (neither of them can actually swim, and the sea water instantly drains their strength the moment the first wave licks at their bare feet, but as he kisses her senseless, holding her in his arms, the water a warm lulling cocoon around them, giving her a strange feeling of safety and belonging, she finds out both of them don't really give a damn), having forgotten about all ancient chronicles and Very Important Documents in the world. They look at the sunset, his arm around her shoulders, her hand on his waist, and after the first star lights up in the sky Robin suggests that they come back. Aokiji agrees and takes her to four different islands in a row in the pitch-black dark of the night until they finally figure out the way home.

It's already dawning when they arrive, and she's fallen asleep, clutching his shirt. He takes her to the bedroom, and she murmurs, smiling and dozy: "You're just like Zoro", and gets to hear his answer before she drifts off:

"Not quite. I don't like training that much".

In the evening she listens to Aokiji lazily rebutting Ivankov's invectives concerning his absence at the Summit That Decided the Destiny of the World over the Den Den Mushi. After they are done (or at least Aokiji is, having hung up on his conversational partner in the middle of the latter's fiery diatribe) she asks:

"Did you really forget about the summit?"

And he tells her:

"No. I just didn't feel like going".

When Robin's favorite cup breaks she frowns slightly, the corners of her mouth turning down, a barely noticeable wrinkle between her eyebrows, then proceeds to clean the mess. The next morning, another cup is placed on her table as she skims through the rough outline of what with time is going to become _The History of the Void Century_, planning her work for the day. The cup is full of steaming coffee made just the way she likes it - no sugar, no cream, - and looks exactly the same as the broken one.

"What's this?" she asks, carefully turning the cup in her hands to get a better look.

"You once told me that cup reminded you of the one that teacher of yours - Professor Clover, was it? - used to drink from", Aokiji says, as if that explains everything.

"Is that so?" she laughs quietly and makes a sip. For some reason, this coffee tastes like the best one she's had in years.

"You know, Kuzan... It's funny how you always remember the smallest things and forget the biggest".

"It's just about what's important and what's not", he answers matter-of-factly.

Robin chuckles and returns to her notes.

For the next few minutes, though, her eyes remain unfocused and faraway, her hands still circling the cup, her quiet smile glowing brighter than the morning sun.


End file.
